South African pacer Hardus Viljoen makes his way into the CSK camp

With the 14th season of IPL just less than 20 days away, all the eight franchisees have hit the ground and have started with their practice sessions in full flow. The three time IPL champions; Chennai Super Kings (CSK) led by MS Dhoni are seen practicing at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai from over the last two weeks. After a dismal performance (CSK finished 7th) in the last season of IPL which was played in the UAE, MSD and co. would be rearing to go and make their mark in this year’s tournament.

In order to strengthen their team, CSK made some smart purchases like England all-rounder Moeen Ali, Indian domestic spinner Krishnappa Gowtham, former India player Robin Uthappa and India’s Test star Cheteshwar Pujara. The return of swashbuckling Suresh Raina will also enhance CSK’s chances of making it to the playoffs this year.

So far, it has been seen that only the Indian players have been practicing, with the foreign players not being available for training due to their commitments with the respective national boards. Apart from the Indians at MA Chidambaram, the cameras captured a fresh face at the practice. It was South African pacer Hardus Viljoen. The 32-year old right-arm quick was spotted alongside the CSK players and was also seen in videos released by the franchise from the training.

Vijloen, who is a tall, strapping bowler, with an ability to hit the deck hard was one of the players who went under the hammer at the auction for IPL 2021. Entering at a base price of Rs. 50 lakhs, surprisingly none of the franchisees bid for him. Before being roped in by CSK, he was a part of the Punjab Kings (Kings XI Punjab) outfit. Punjab released Vijloen since he was underutilized. The Protea will be the second-pace bowler from South Africa after Lungi Ngidi in the CSK camp. The MS Dhoni-led side will kick start its IPL 2021 campaign on April 10 as it will take on Shreyas Iyer’s Delhi Capitals in Mumbai.